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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · can · drill · straw · chest · chip · bear · file

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. file — a document
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bear — the animal
  10. drill — a practice
  11. file — a tool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bear — the animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. chest — a box
  20. can — a tin
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com